Technical Field
The invention concerns a control device, in particular for car seats, with at least one touch-sensitive surface designed to generate a control signal for controlling a function, in particular a car seat function, when touched by the hand of an operator, wherein the control device has at least one recess within which the touch-sensitive surface (2) is positioned, characterized in that the recess is designed as a groove or slot to accommodate the operator's fingers, and a motor vehicle seat equipped with such a control device, having a seat section and a back rest as well as the control device.
Prior Art
For some time, it has been common to design switches for adjusting devices—such as the air conditioning or heating in a motor vehicle, for example—as touch-sensitive surfaces, for example from FR 2825832. These touch-sensitive surfaces can be operated very easily using a finger and adjustments can be made steplessly and relatively intuitively since the movement of the operator's finger is converted more or less directly into the adjustment of the setting. A quick movement can therefore make a quick adjustment or a slow movement can make a gradual adjustment.
A touch-sensitive surface for the regulation of a seat heater is also known from JP 2010201040. This is positioned in the side area of the seat section and can be operated with the palm.
The problem with touch-sensitive surfaces is that they are relatively hard to find outside the operator's field of view and this can lead to operator errors. For this reason, such touch-sensitive surfaces outside the operator's field of view are not recommended, particularly if operation is to be possible while driving the vehicle. Possible operator errors may have unforeseen consequences.